Anthony's, Leeds

[Gary Marshall]

lunch at anthony's on saturday  can't wait

Dinner on Saturday myself I'll just miss eating in the same restaurant as the hallowed Gary.

However - may have the special honour of eating at his table. (I wonder if you can reserve it )

well my lunches have been known to go on, so we might still be there

enjoy your dinner

cheers

gary

[Gary Marshall]

well my lunches have been known to go on, so we might still be there 

well i stayed until about 7pm, until mrs marshall made me come home as she wanted to go out for dinner with me- spoilsport

giles coren did a great review in the saturday times, www.thetimes.co.uk.

a great lunch was had by all, a full attack of the ALC with the 2 starters, mains, cheese & desert strategy working well.

full report to follow....

gary

[Plutocrat]

Well, after an uninspiring and expensive meal in the new Conran venture in Canary Wharf "Plateau" on Friday, the anticipation of dinner at Anthonys was almost too much to bear throughout the drive up home on Saturday, and again we were not to be disappointed.

Arriving to a warm welcome from Anthony Sr and Holly at the bar we started off with the previously discussed "Deus" champagne style beer. very honeyed and initially a little bit of a shock, but as the bottle goes down I enjoyed it more and more. An excellent and different aperitif.

We then headed downstairs for food. The Pina Colada was still on. Slight changes to this since we enjoyed it on our first visit. Now served in a glass rather than a shallow bowl it can be a little difficult to consume elegantly. It also seems to be served at a slightly higher temperature which has allowed the flavours to come through.

The paprika wafers were present and correct. These are magnificent crisps and go so well with beer that I want a large bowl of them next time I'm on the beer.

The amuse was a bilberry ice cream with sweetcorn. Wow. Individually the bilberry was exciting on the tongue. I think I may have found my new favourite fruit but the season is apparently only 2 weeks long The sweetcorn crispy and delicate. Taken together though, the effect was astonishing. The flavour of the sweetcorn was brought out to an amazing extent.

Starters of Langoustine in fennel tea, and white onion risotto were as excellent as previously described. The langoustine on this occasion were particularly plump and pleasing. I noticed in his review here

that Giles Coren described the parmesan as a little greasy. Can't say I noticed that but maybe my palate is insufficiently educated.

Mains of salt cod and saddle of rabbit followed. Again previously described. I loved the way the beetroot/raspberry puree brings out the gameyness of the rabbit. The salt cod was described by my good lady wife as "possibly the greatest thing I have ever eaten". Puts my culinary efforts in the shade then

Pre dessert was white chocolate sorbet with white berries. The flavour of the white chocolate coming through without its tendency to heaviness/greasiness.

We stretched ourselves to puds. The peanut ice cream chocolate cake and the coffee timbale. Unfortunately my timbale burst and released its intense coffee goo before it got to the table but it tasted very fine.

We had the usual selection of cheeses to round off a fantastic meal.

We then retired upstairs for coffees and a few beers off the menu. I particularly enjoyed the raspberry beer which smelt like a pot of homemade raspberry jam and tasted like raspberry creamola foam. A porter and a duvel and all was well with the world

Sorry to have missed you Gary, apparently you had just left when we arrived. Anthony Sr was impressed it was the first time lunch service had run straight into dinner.

Back again tomorrow night with my father to show him what all the fuss is about. God, life is harsh.

Edit:oops. seems like I was posting at the same time as you Gary

Edit: again. Typos

Edited July 19, 2004 by Plutocrat (log)

[YKL]

well my lunches have been known to go on, so we might still be there 

well i stayed until about 7pm, until mrs marshall made me come home as she wanted to go out for dinner with me- spoilsport

giles coren did a great review in the saturday times, www.thetimes.co.uk.

a great lunch was had by all, a full attack of the ALC with the 2 starters, mains, cheese & desert strategy working well.

full report to follow....

gary

revised link for the times article here ...

*sigh* - where's my phone? only Monday and already am feeling need to venture in for Sat lunch ...

[Dan Ryan]

I'm going to be in the UK in early August, and I've decided that a trip to Anthony's is just what I need. I fancy nipping up for lunch, probably on Thursday 5 August. Anybody fancy a meet-up for then?

Failing that, any recommendations from the regulars for the best things to go for? You know who you are. The types who stay till dinner.

[Andy Lynes]

Very interested to note Coren's mention of Putney Bridge, I wonder if he is going to review it as well at some point.

[Gary Marshall]

I'm going to be in the UK in early August, and I've decided that a trip to Anthony's is just what I need. I fancy nipping up for lunch, probably on Thursday 5 August. Anybody fancy a meet-up for then?

Failing that, any recommendations from the regulars for the best things to go for? You know who you are. The types who stay till dinner.

it's all interesting food.

when we had alc last week the most popular dishes were the parmesan air risotto and the squab with pickled garlic as starters.

For mains the duck with chocolate oil & salt cod with pork belly cannelloni .

for desert the apple tatin was popular along with the fondant and coffee timbale.

hope that helps, it's a short menu and it's all being constantly refined.

cheers

gary

[Dan Ryan]

Gary, I noticed in some of your early visits that you left the choice up to Anthony Jr. Do you think this would be a good way to do it?

[Gary Marshall]

certainly not a bad strategy,

either way you'll eat well there.

gary

[CheGuevara]

just read a review of anthony's in olive, written by the chef at bray. he raves about the food, and is quite confident he can make it in leeds.

-che

[Suzi Edwards]

just read a review of anthony's in olive, written by the chef at bray. he raves about the food, and is quite confident he can make it in leeds.

-che

is saying "the chef at bray" the egullet equivalent of saying "the scottish play" when you're around actors?

i've now booked for my second attempt at eating at anthony's. i have made a specific request for the tarte tatin and they were very accomodating. which is nice. am eating at l'enclume the night before so it should be a very inventive couple of days.

[CheGuevara]

it's either my poor memory, or my indulgence in cheap media, that prohibits me from remembering less than pop-ular chefs

-che

[thom]

A quick thank you to Mr Marshall for introducing me to Anthony's yesterday. A simply awesome lunch, with every dish a stand out, and a decent glass of raspberry beer to boot.

A more eloquent critique when I have time (oh about May 2005), but it was a genuinely inspiring meal (company excepted of course...) and one of the best I have had for a good 18 months.

Cheers

Thom

[Bapi]

but it was a genuinely inspiring meal (company excepted of course...)

Welcome back Thom

[Matthew Grant]

We took the trip up North Last Wednesday and I was pleasantly surprised to find the youth wearing baseball caps not flat caps and people driving around in cars! It's obviously a dangerous place for a Southern Softy like me to be so Gary Marshall kindly escorted us from the station to the restaurant and joined us for a quick glass of the Deus beer which reminded me of a really big/heavy champagne more than a beer and was not unappreciated by myself or Rachel but I think Gary needs a little more convincing.

There is nothing more that I can really add to the description of the dishes that have already been provided but favourites were the Langoustine with a heavenly fennel and Langoustine broth, a wonderful white onion risotto with a nice contrast provided by the hint of Espresso and a lovely balance kept to the dish by using a Parmesan air instead of incorporating the parmesan into the risotto itself. The Squab was also fabulous. Most "disappointing" of the starters was the Crab remoulade and even this was fantastic although I couldn't detect the Asparagus despite it being described to me.

The Salt Cod was beautiful, large meaty flakes and the cannelloni of pork belly is indeed made with pork fat rather than pasta and topped with a Gribiche sauce. The Duck with chocolate Bon Bons as previously described was selfishly kept by my better half and we finished with Raspberry beer and a reconstructed Apple Tatin. Once again I forget what Rachel had for dessert.

Our thanks to Anthony (Snr) who spent the afternoon entertaining us while we waited for our train home

Overall a fantastic meal that gave me the "buzz" so lacking in London at the moment. I can't wait to return once that tasting menu is up and running. Superb!

[Stantheman]

"A fantastic meal"

Before we paid our first visit to Anthony's we read, very carefully, all the comments on the last six pages.

We thought we understood them.

We then had the alc lunch and immediately realised we hadn't understood them after all.

But now we do.

Why, oh why, did we wait so long ?

[Gary Marshall]

"A fantastic meal"

Before we paid our first visit to Anthony's we read, very carefully, all the comments on the last six pages.

We thought we understood them.

We then had the alc lunch and immediately realised we hadn't understood them after all.

But now we do.

Why, oh why, did we wait so long ?

←

glad you enjoyed it, what did you have?

hopefully new chef will have started/starting soon so the next leg of the development of the restaurant can take place.

feels like its been around for ages, but it's actually only six months old!

cheers

gary

[Suzi Edwards]

Welcome to eGullet Stantheman! What did you eat?

[Stantheman]

Sorry about the absence of the important stuff but we came away bemused at the presentation and the tastes we had experienced over the last two and a half hours. We are still discussing them and are no nearer agreement

We started with an amuse of a raspberry cocktail with (Valentin ??) whisky. What someone else describes as a raspberry gimlet.

Then came the paprika wafers which were excellent and a contrast to the cocktail

The tiny loaf with parmesan butter followed

My wife's starter was described as fresh crab with ?? dressing and sprigs of basil

Mine was the risotto of white onion with parmesan air (of which more later)

An amuse of 3 tiny roasted cherry tomatoes wiith leaves and all sorts of things (do you regret asking me what we ate yet ?)

My wife had the monkfish with asparagus and ....... mushrooms. Never seen anything like them before - they looked like almost like tiny, flattened, globe artichokes ( with flat scales). Don't think they were enoki.

I had the saddle of rabbit with beetroot and raspberry, which, as Olga promised, was a feast of tastes in itself.

An amuse of a raspberry mousse

A complimentary glass of pink champagne

My wife had the apple tatin and I had the white peach and honeysuckle, both followed by coffee and petit fours.

A bottle of Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which we've had once before and found delicious completed the meal.

What will the lasting memories be ?

1. Next time we'll order two crab starters and try and smuggle one home. It would look great in our display cabinet !

2. Next time we go I shall try to order the white onion risotto as starter, main and dessert. I thought it was unbelievable.

It reminded me that we used to eat at the Box Tree at Ilkley, about (mumble mumble) years ago, when it was (supposed to be) the best restaurant in England. My overwhelming memory remains one of their potato cakes. Superb as everything was the other day, the risotto is bound to be the modern day equivalent of that potato cake.

Which leads me to one final thought for your thoughts. They always say that you can't compare a footballer from the 1970's to one from the 2004's. Is it the same with restaurants?

If you can - then Anthony's gets our vote over the Box Tree.

[Stantheman]

Sorry about the absence of the important stuff but we came away bemused at the presentation and the tastes we had experienced over the last two and a half hours. We are still discussing them and are no nearer agreement

We started with an amuse of a raspberry cocktail with (Valentin ??) whisky. What someone else describes as a raspberry gimlet.

Then came the paprika wafers which were excellent and a contrast to the cocktail

The tiny loaf with parmesan butter followed

My wife's starter was described as fresh crab with ?? dressing and sprigs of basil

Mine was the risotto of white onion with parmesan air (of which more later)

An amuse of 3 tiny roasted cherry tomatoes wiith leaves and all sorts of things (do you regret asking me what we ate yet ?)

My wife had the monkfish with asparagus and ....... mushrooms. Never seen anything like them before - they looked like almost like tiny, flattened, globe artichokes ( with flat scales). Don't think they were enoki.

I had the saddle of rabbit with beetroot and raspberry, which, as Olga promised, was a feast of tastes in itself.

An amuse of a raspberry mousse

A complimentary glass of pink champagne

My wife had the apple tatin and I had the white peach and honeysuckle, both followed by coffee and petit fours.

A bottle of Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which we've had once before and found delicious completed the meal.

What will the lasting memories be ?

1. Next time we'll order two crab starters and try and smuggle one home. It would look great in our display cabinet !

2. Next time we go I shall try to order the white onion risotto as starter, main and dessert. I thought it was unbelievable.

It reminded me that we used to eat at the Box Tree at Ilkley, about (mumble mumble) years ago, when it was (supposed to be) the best restaurant in England. My overwhelming memory remains one of their potato cakes. Superb as everything was the other day, the

risotto is bound to be the modern day equivalent of that potato cake.

Which leads me to one final thought for your thoughts. They always say that you can't compare a footballer from the 1970's to one from the 2004's. Is it the same with restaurants?

If you can - then Anthony's gets our vote over the Box Tree.

←

[Stantheman]

ps.

The mushrooms were delicious. I know because we both tasted the other's courses.

[The Lady Pleaser]

Hello

We're off tonight

Does anyone have any suggestions from the current menu?

What about thoughts on wine?

Cheers

R

[The Lady Pleaser]

Hello

We finally went to Anthony's in Leeds last night.

Beautiful interior, linen and tableware. Gorgeously presented food.

We had the langoustines and onion risotto to start then the rabbit and grouse.

Desert was the cheeses served with their own bread.

I don't think that I can add much more than has been said. The white onion risotto with parmesan air was fantastic. I felt that the main course helpings were a little on the slim side but as I have said they were beautifully presented and very tasty.

Wines were a half bottle of a Sancerre and their Chateau Lagrange. Both recommended by Anthony senior and both excellent.

My only quibble was with the cheeses. I think it was £7.95 each and for that you got 4 2cm^2 pieces of cheeses and their bread. I really didn't think that the bread worked that well with the cheese, there was just too much of it. More importantly I felt it was a very small amount of cheese for the money. This is Leeds, remember!

A few drinks upstairs with Anthony snr to round off.

Very good evening.

Still uncertain whether it representes better value than No. 3 and the Calls. There is the Box Tree now too.

[Gary Marshall]

did you not get some form of 'chutney' with the cheese?

usually there is something that adds to the cheese, i don't usually bother with bread with the cheese.

the cheeses i've had there are always in very good condition.

As for the price, well at winteringham fields the cheese is £12.99 from memory, they have a bigger choice but what ends up on your the plate at the end of it is not much more than anthonys!

the grouse dish is a new one to me, i haven't been since the season started, how was that presented?

cheers

gary

[The Lady Pleaser]

Hi Gary

It seemed to be half a grouse roasted and presented mostly off the bone. I am happy to be corrected, I couldn't exactly work out what the anatomy was.

A very light gamey taste.

It was served with sweet potato and pomegranate fruit "segments".

The amuse before this was ?fried sweetcorn with nectarine sorbet.

No, there was no chutney. It would have made a good addition. We had celery, grape and whole red pepper corns in a sort of salsa. It didn't really do a lot for me I have to be honest. The more I think about it the more I am convinced that the bread was totally wrong.

Have you been to the Box Tree yet?

R